Methods and apparatus for sharing, transferring and removing previously owned digital media

ABSTRACT

The invention provide systems and methods for management of digital media objects, comprising first and second client digital data processors (e.g., personal (or private) computers, laptops, dedicated music devices, electronic book readers, and so forth) that are in communications coupling with one or more stores (e.g, dedicated disk drives, flash drives, cloud storage, etc.). At least one digital media object (DMO) or copy thereof is stored in one or more of those stores and is accessible by at least one of the first and second client digital data processors.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/492,846, filed Apr. 20, 2017, entitled “Methods And Apparatus ForSharing, Transferring And Removing Previously Owned Digital Media.” U.S.application Ser. No. 15/492,846 is a continuation of U.S. applicationSer. No. 15/056,603, filed Feb. 29, 2016, entitled “Methods AndApparatus For Sharing, Transferring And Removing Previously OwnedDigital Media.” U.S. application Ser. No. 15/056,603 is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 13/852,757, filed Mar. 28, 2013, entitled“Methods and Apparatus for Sharing, Transferring and Removing PreviouslyOwned Digital Media.” U.S. application Ser. No. 13/852,757 is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/983,257, filed Dec. 31,2010, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,627,500, entitled “Methods andApparatus for Sharing, Transferring and Removing Previously OwnedDigital Media.” U.S. application Ser. No. 12/983,257 claims the benefitof U.S. Appl. No. 61/291,498, entitled “Methods and Apparatus forSharing, Transferring and Removing Previously Owned Digital Media,”filed Dec. 31, 2009. The teachings of all of these applications areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to digital media and, more particularly, by wayof non-limiting example, to the management of music, e-books and otherforms of digital media. The invention has application, by way ofnon-limiting example, in identifying, sharing, transferring,redistributing and removing previously owned digital media.

Digital computer music is very popular but so is the practice of makingand distributing copyright-infringing copies. The music industry hastried many ways to prevent unauthorized copying and distributing digitalmusic. The problem is not limited to digital music, however, digitalmovies, e-books, and many other digital media objects are also subjectto such copying.

Some methods of playing digital music and videos, such as DVD playersand Microsoft's Windows Media Player, will only play objects that can beverified as original and legal. Other devices go even further and removecontent deemed illegal. For example, the producers of special purposedevices for playing music, running software games, and displayinge-books have retained the right to remove content even after it ispurchased and installed on a user's device. For example, digital mediaobjects purchased through Apple's “app” store can be remotely removedfrom an iPhone or iTouch without the owner's knowledge. Similarly forAmazon's Kindle e-book reader. This can be done in a vertical market inwhich the producer of the device is also the sole content distributor.

In a non-vertical market, when there is a personal computer in the chainof producer to consumer, it is often challenging to determine if a filecontains a particular digital media object. Small changes to the fileundetectable by the viewer or listener make it hard to determine theexact contents of a file.

Other technology, however, can identify the contents of a digital mediaobject. For example, in the case of digital music, there are severalways to perform acoustic fingerprinting or content-based audioidentification, e.g. see U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,766 and U.S. Pat. No.5,918,223. These and other methods identify content from excerpts ofonly a few seconds long and deal with shifting (not knowing exactlywhere in the content is the excerpt). Some can also handle other sourcesof degradation such as pitching (playing it faster or slower),equalization, and background noise. They are relatively computationallyefficient.

There are two fundamental processes for identifying the content of adigital media object (not just audio): fingerprint extraction andmatching algorithm. The first processes the contents of a digital mediaobject producing a set of features that are particular to the specificobject. The second uses these to identify the object by querying adatabase of known objects and their features.

Note that the second process is not need when the digital media objectis known. For example, consider the case when one wants to find allfiles that the Beatle's song “Yesterday.” Given a fingerprint of“Yesterday” one just compares this with the fingerprints of all files.

Fingerprinting should not be confused with digital watermarking whichrelies on inserting identifying features into the content itself, andtherefore changing the nature of the content. Watermarks must beinserted at the source in order to identify content and may be changedor removed at a later time by anyone.

Like audio, video fingerprinting is also a well-known technology. Foraudio and video, there are many fingerprinting services, such as:

Advestigo (audio, video and image fingerprinting) Attributor (image andvideo fingerprinting) Auditude Connect technology (audio and videofingerprinting) Audible Magic (audio video image fingerprinting)AudioFingerprint at MusicBrainz's wiki INA (video fingerprinting)iPharro Media (video fingerprinting) Philips Content Identification(audio and video fingerprinting) MetatOGGer freeware using the MusicDNSservice for identifying audio files New Media Lab broadcast monitoringservice using audio fingerprinting technology. Civolution (audio andvideo fingerprinting) Thomson (video fingerprinting) Vercury (audio,image and video fingerprinting) Vidyatel Video conform, TV (frameaccurate video fingerprinting) tracking and Management Vobile ContentIdentification (audio and video fingerprinting) and Management YUVsoft(video fingerprinting and search) Zeitera (video fingerprinting)

Electronic books can be read on a computer, laptop, smart phone, PDA, orspecialized e-book reader. Many e-book readers use e-ink as a displaydevice because they require less power, and are easy to read in brightsun light, and are less expensive. E-ink currently cannot renderanimations with sufficient speed to look seamless. Consequently, e-bookreaders tend to be of limited computational value, and are usuallydedicated to the single function of displaying the pages of anelectronic book. The Illiad IRex, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and theBarns-n-Noble Nook are some dedicated e-book readers.

To date, the publishers have a tighter control on the distribution ofe-books. There are some digitizing and scanning services, such as theGutenberg Project and Google's book scanning effort, that place digitalversions of many books in the public domain. It is much easier tofingerprint books, since the words have a much more standard format.

Depending on the type of ebook software, the ebook file is eitherencrypted to a specific computer or device (meaning it can only be readon that computer or device) or it is encrypted to a specific user'saccount (meaning it can be read on any device or computer which containsthat user's secret account information).

If an ebook has been protected for only one person to read, thenconsumers (or “users”) download the file to their computer and must readthe ebook on that computer (or on other devices containing their secretaccount information). Copies of the ebook can only be read on authorizedcomputers or by authorized users.

If a publisher/author has decided not to copy-protect their ebook, thenconsumers (or “users”) download the file to their computer and can thencopy it to any other computer/device they choose. The ebook may be readon any supported computer and by any user.

Other digital media objects work in a similar fashion.

In view of the foregoing, an object of the invention is to provideimproved systems and methods for digital data processing and, moreparticularly, for the management of music, e-books and other forms ofdigital media.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing are among the objects attained by the invention whichprovides, in some aspects, systems and methods for managing digitalmedia objects (e.g., digital music files) so that actions taken withrespect to them verifiably mimics at least some of the consequencesthose actions would have on the physical counterparts of those objects,e.g., record albums or CDs.

Thus, for example, in related aspects, the invention provides suchsystems and methods that support “ownership” (or acquisition) of digitalobjects such that, for example, when a user buys such an object, theuser acquires an actual (or virtual) copy of it, along with the right touse it—subject, for example, to the copyright or other applicable lawsor agreements. In further related aspects, the invention provides suchsystems and methods that support transfers of ownership such that, forexample, when a user sells such an object, all copies of it are removedfrom the user's computer and other synchronized devices (e.g., MP3players).

Further aspects of the invention provide such systems and methods thatcompensate for and/or take advantage of the digital nature of theobject. According to these aspects of the invention, for example, if theowner's computer breaks, the digital object becomes corrupted, or theowner buys a new computer, the owner can still get the object.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods, e.g., asdescribed above, for transferring previously purchased digital mediafrom the current legal owner to a new owner in compliance with the firstsale doctrine, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and so forth.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods, e.g., asdescribed above, for identifying, fingerprinting, compressing, deletingand transferring digital objects between parties.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods, e.g., asdescribed above, that support the right to transfer and facilitate thetransfer of previously purchased digital media to another and providespermission for any parts of the file that contain personal or purchasedata to be modified or removed.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods, e.g., asdescribed above, for removing all identified files from all devices thatare or become connected to the application source device.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods, e.g., asdescribed above, for removing and or modifying the Personal ID (PID)associated with a specific file or files and adding a new PID to thefile from which the previous PID has been removed and or modified.

In another aspect, the invention provides methods, e.g., as describedabove, for sharing digital data in a similar way to physical hard goods,e.g., within a software application, such that the owner can loan theirmedia, for a predetermined period of time, to another person or entitywhereby the lender will not have full access to the media within theirapplication and the lendee will have full use with the exception of theability to copy an exact duplicate of the media loaned.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods forinventory control that algorithmically determine the likely inventoryrequired on a period basis and allows users to transfer desired media toapplication and receive credit for said transfer if inventory isrequired by the algorithm, if inventory is not currently required usersinventory will be pegged and transferred as needed in order of priority,the application will keep record of available to transfer media storedon user applications.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods forannotation template that allows the digital media to be annotated withnotes, pictures, graphs, ideas, any annotation that is separate from thedigital media but overlays in the proper place when used in conjunctionwith the media source or can be used standalone as a summary ofannotations for a specific media file. For example, the invention caninclude a copyright generator that continually updates and assignscopyright of all template annotations.

In another aspect, the invention provides systems and methods for mediarevenue allocation that algorithmically allocate a portion of applicablesales to the appropriate parties.

Further aspects of the invention are evident in Appendix A, in whichexemplary systems and methods according to the invention are referred toas ReDigi™.

Further aspects of the invention provide a system for management ofdigital media objects, comprising first and second client digital dataprocessors (e.g., personal (or private) computers, laptops, dedicatedmusic devices, electronic book readers, and so forth) that are incommunications coupling with one or more stores (e.g, dedicated diskdrives, flash drives, cloud storage, etc.). At least one digital mediaobject (DMO) or copy thereof is stored in one or more of those storesand is accessible by at least one of the first and second client digitaldata processors.

During a first period of time, the first client digital data processoris substantially free of discouragement from accessing the DMO or copythereof by management logic (e.g., management software) that executes onthat first client or is in communications coupling therewith.

During a second (e.g., later) period of time that is mutually exclusiveof the first period, the management logic selectively discourages thefirst client digital data processor from accessing the DMO or any copiesthereof. Such discouragement can be, by way of example, the sending ofwarning messages, the blocking of access to one or more accounts orservices, the blocking of file system access to such DMO or copies, andso forth. During that same second period, the second client digital dataprocessor is substantially free of discouragement from accessing the DMOor its copies copy thereof by said management logic.

According to aspects of the invention, the first period corresponds to atime when the first client digital data processor (e.g., or operatorthereof) “owns” the DMO. The second period corresponds to a time afterwhich the first client (or operator) has relinquished ownership. Inrelated aspects of the invention, that second period also corresponds toa time when the second client digital data processor (or operator) hasassumed ownership of the DMO.

Further aspects of the invention provide systems, e.g., as describedabove, in which the DMO is any of a digital song, a video, a movie, anelectronic book, a digital story, a digital article, a digital document,a digital still image, a digital game, or a portion thereof. In relatedaspects of the invention, the DMO is a file representing any of theforegoing.

Still further related aspects of the invention provide systems, e.g., asdescribed above, wherein the management logic computes and/or assigns acommon, unique fingerprint to the DMO and any copies thereof. In relatedaspects of the invention, that logic discourages the first client fromaccessing any file or other DMO having that common, unique fingerprint.

Still other aspects of the invention provide systems, e.g., as describedabove, in which the management logic effects such selectivediscouragement in response to a transfer-ownership event, e.g., arequest by the first client to sell the DMO and/or by the second clientto buy the DMO. In related aspects of the invention, the managementlogic can respond to a request by the first client to sell the DMO byconfirming that digital data processor indeed owns it.

Yet still other aspects of the invention provide systems, e.g., asdescribed above, wherein the management logic effects the selectivediscouragement in response to a transfer-ownership event. In relatedaspects, that event is signaled or otherwise effected by a serverdigital data processor that is in communications coupling with the firstand second client digital data processors. In still further relatedaspects, the server thus effects an atomic transfer of ownership of theDMO from the first client to the second client.

As used herein, the terms “client digital data processor,” “client,” andthe like refer to a respective one of the client digital dataprocessors, e.g., under the control of and/or at the behest of its humanowner and/or operator. As will be evident in the discuss that follows,these terms may refer to the action of human owner (or operator) him orherself.

Further aspects of the invention provides systems, e.g., as describedabove, wherein a collection of multiple digital data processors (e.g.,personal computers, laptops, dedicated music devices, etc., owned by thesame person or family) stand in the stead of one of the client digitaldata processors described above.

Still further aspects of the invention provide methods of method formanagement of digital media objects paralleling the operations describedabove.

These and other aspects of the invention are evident in the drawings andin the text that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the invention may be attained byreference to the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D depict options to encrypt different parts ofthe file containing a digital media object in a system according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 depicts a system according to the invention;

FIG. 3 depicts processing of a music file in a system according to theinvention; and

FIG. 4 depicts tables used by a system according to the invention inorder to know what actions need to be taken when a file is created,deleted, or modified.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Introduction

Digital media objects, such as digital songs, movies, electronic books,mimic many features and aspects of their corresponding physical objects,although, to date there are significant ways in which they still differ.In particular, there is no common way to resell a digital media object.To do so, a system is needed that can verify that someone owns a objectbefore selling it, and that after selling it, they no longer have it.This document describes a way to do just that.

Terminology

First it is helpful to define some terminology.

The term DMO or dmo as used herein denotes a “Digital Media Object.” ADMO is usually a file, but it could also be part of a file or it can bereplicated in multiple files, that contains a creative work subject toprotection by methods and systems according to the invention. These canbe, by way of non-limiting example, digital songs, videos, movies,electronic books, stories, articles documents, still images, videogames, software applications and so forth—just to name a few.

We use the term play to cover the broad category of what a device doesto a digital media object for the use by the user or owner. In the caseof a digital music or video object, play is the correct term. For adigital picture, render is the term used to display the picture, but foruniformity, we will say that a computer or digital picture frame willplay the picture. Similarly for a digital book. We say that an e-bookreader device will play the electronic or digital book object.

The term User generally refers to the user of methods and systemsaccording to the present invention and or their respective digital dataprocessors. The person will, for example, buy and sell DMO's with thatdigital data processor.

A file system or filesystem is a method of organizing computer files tomake it easy to find and access them. File systems may use a datastorage device, such as a hard disk, CD-ROM, flash storage device, andcan involve maintaining the physical location of the files. File systemsmay be local or remote. File systems may also be maintained in a singlelocation or distributed among multiple locations.

The term volume or disk volume is a technical computer term referring toa single accessible storage area within a single file system, typicallyresident on a single partition of a hard disk. As above, a volume may belocal or remote and/or maintained in a single location or distributedamong multiple locations.

A fingerprint of a computer file or of a digital media object is a bitstring (typically, a short bit string) that uniquely identifies theoriginal data, of a much larger size, for all practical purposes just ashuman fingerprints uniquely identify people for practical purposes.Fingerprints are typically used to avoid the comparison and transmissionof bulky data. Fingerprint functions are related to (and sometimesconfused with) checksums, hash functions, cryptographic hash functions,and digital signatures.

Digital Media Objects

Our era of computers has seen the “digitalization” of many differentmedia. Digital cameras have transformed the world of photography. Filmis no longer used to capture a picture, rather a picture is capturedwith a digital camera and the image is recorded as a series of pixels,or numbers/bits. A digital picture is a collection of bits that encodethe image in a certain may and packaged together as a computer file. Thepixels of the image are arranged in a rectangle with a certain number ofcolumns and rows. Thus somewhere in the beginning of the file, are thesetwo numbers. There is much more information that can be specified aboutthe picture. This information is often stored in the header of the filebefore the actual bits of the image. The information in the header issometimes referred to as “meta-data” since it describes things about theimage but not the image itself.

Meta-data in the header may specify information such as the camera, theshutter speed, time and date, the place or GPS coordinate as to wherethe picture was taken, and other things about the image. In addition,other information can be stored in this header, such as thephotographer, the owner of the image, or a unique id representing aparticular purchase of the image. The header might be sealed usingencryption techniques to prevent others from changing this information.The image may be compressed using one of the standard techniques such asjpeg, tiff, postscript, bitmap, and many others. The image may or maynot be encrypted.

FIG. 1 depicts various options for encrypting different parts of thefile containing a digital media object in a system according to theinvention. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1A, a digital media object 10 containsa header 12, along with a “body” 14 containing bits representing thedigital song, video, or other file content. As shown in FIG. 1B, oneoption for encrypting the file includes encrypting the body 14 using aprivate key of the hardware device or software application that will beused by the user to render (or, more generally, “play”) the object 10.As shown in FIG. 1C, another option is to additionally encrypt theheader 12, albeit using a private key associated with the distributor,producer or owner of the digital media object. Further, as shown in FIG.1D, a further option is to encrypt both the header 12 and body 14—bothencrypted in accord with FIG. 1C—with the private key of the copyrightowner.

Music has seen a similar transformation. Music is no longer recorded ona paper-roll, record or tape. It too has been digitized and a recordingplaced in a file with a header similar to that of digital pictures. Themusic encoding, number of bits per second of playback, pitch, volume,Dolby encoding, and the dynamic range. Other information may also beplaced in the header, again, such as the owner, producer, song title,and a whole lot more.

Pictures, music, and other digital media often contain more precisionthan can be observed, heard, or sensed by people or by the renderingtechnology. Consequently, variations in the bits specifying the objectmay not be noticeable. Two images may appear identical even though theirbit representations differ slightly. One the one hand, this provides achallenge when trying to identify an image from its file representation.On the other-hand, it permits embedding information directly into theimage or music that is not noticeable but can be used to watermark theobject.

Of course, movies, which essentially are a combination of images andsound have been digitized and wrapped in a file or multiple files withdetailed meta-data. There are many different formats for movies as well.Since movies require a large number of bits, they are often stored inmultiple files but usually within one main directory representing theentire movie.

Computers have been used as “word processing” devices or desktoppublishing for many years. More recently, there has been an increase inelectronic books, or e-books. Again, the contents of a book are recordeddigitally usually in a file or multiple files within a directory. Onceagain, there is metadata associated with the e-book, that may containthe title, author, number of pages, and much more information.

Many other types of media are similarly treated. Computer games, 3-D orholographic movies, karaoke, rock-band, maps, slide shows, maps, andmore. We shall refer to all of these as “digital media objects.”

Since digital media objects are just a file of binary data they can beeasily copied. Unlike the physical counterparts, the copies are usuallyidentical in that their binary specification are exactly the same. Themeta-data may be the same or may differ depending on how the copy wasmade.

Typical Organization

FIG. 2 depicts a system for the management of digital media objectsaccording to one practice of the invention. It will be appreciated thatthis is shown and described by way of example, and that other systemsincorporating changes to that shown (and described) may fall are withinthe scope of the invention, as well. As shown in the drawing,

There are many ways to install, maintain, distribute, sell, and otheroperations involving DMO's and their use. In a typical use case (seeFIG. 2) of a system according to the invention, there is a serverdigital data processor (“server”) 20 that is accessed by and incommunications coupling with a client digital data processor, e.g.,private computer 22 of a user 24 via the internet 26. The server 20,which is typically remotely disposed from the client digital dataprocessor (or “client”) and which is therefore referred to occasionallyherein without loss of generality as the “remote server,” storesoriginal versions of the DMO's 28 for this user 24 (as well as for otherusers). The user (a term which is typically used herein to refer to anact of the client digital data processor, e.g., under the control ofand/or at the behest of its human owner and/or operator) may upload ordownload his or her DMO's between his or her private computer and his orher storage area on the remote server. Every non-new DMO stored in theremote server 20, is owned by some user's account. The user's accounthas a pointer to the DMO stored on the disks associated with the remoteserver.

For a DMO to be offered for sale, it is first copied to the remoteserver and stored on the disk. The user's account points to the place onthe disk where the DMO is stored. All copies of the DMO must be purgedfrom the user's private computer. When this is confirmed, the DMO can beoffered for sale.

To buy a DMO 28 a, a user places an order. When a matching DMO isoffered for sale a transaction occurs, that involves an exchange ofmoney and the pointer to the object is moved from the previous owner tothe new owner. The new owner's private computer 22 will download theobject 28 a from the remote server 20 and store it on the local harddrive 30 of the private computer 22. Later, the DMO player 32 isconnected to the private computer 22 and the DMO 28 a is copied to thatdevice 32.

Referring to FIG. 2, digital music can be played on a computer 22, adedicated music device 32, etc. Electronic books can be read oncomputers 22, dedicated e-book readers 34. (The computer 22 and devices32, 34 are collectively referred to herein as “client digital dataprocessors”). The digital media objects may be downloaded from a server20 via the internet 26. They may first be stored on a computer 22 andthen transferred to a dedicated media device, e.g., 32 or the dedicatedmedia device, e.g., 34 can directly connect to the remote server 20 viathe internet 26 for such download.

When the dedicated device, e.g., 34, directly communicates with a remoteserver 20, that server 20 can usually control the objects on the device,e.g., 34, including remotely deleting them. When the digital mediaobjects are played on a computer 22 or when dedicated devices, e.g., 32,connects or communicates with a private computer 22, then DMO managementsoftware which is resident on the private computer 22 (and which canexchange status information with the server regarding DMOs owned, sold,awaiting sale, etc., by the user of that computer) manages the contenton the device, e.g., 32. That management software is referred toalternatively herein the “Manager Application,” the “management system,”the “management software,” and the like.

Ownership Concerns

Physical objects can be lent to friends, used, and then returned orresold. Ownership of an object often means physical possession. Owningan object often implies that one can sell that object. In the prior art,ownership of digital objects do not have this feature. It is easy tomake an unlimited number of copies, sell these away and still have theoriginal. Systems according to the invention overcome this by ensuringthat, when a user sells a DMO, he/she is divested of all current andfuture copies—until he/she buys another. Thus, systems according to theinvention allows one to buy, sell, return, and transfer digital objectsin very much the same way as physical ones.

Functional Description

The following is a functional description of the invention as itpertains to an exemplary system for music management, sometimes referredto herein as ReDigi™. In alternate embodiments, similar systems canmanage other types of digital media, such as, by way of non-limitingexample, digital songs, videos, movies, electronic books, stories,articles documents, still images, and so forth—just to name a few.

In one exemplary embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 3, a system accordingto the invention processes a music file in order to manage a singlesong. As shown in the drawing, a song can be legally purchased anddownloaded by an owner. See step 40. It can be played by the owner untilthe owner wishes to sell the song. See steps 42-44. If the song passesall validity checks (including examination of metadata and fingerprintextraction) applied by the Manager Application (step 54) and by theserver (step 57) after the song is uploaded (step 56), the song can besold (see steps 46-60). Otherwise, sale is rejected (step 62). In thecase the sale is permitted to proceed, the song is offered for sale bythe server (step 64), is logged as sold (step 66) and if new copies ofthe song appear, e.g., as detected by waiting for external diskattachment or file creation (step 70) and examining for match with thesold song metadata and fingerprints of newly added files (steps 72-74),those are also deleted from the owner's system (step 68) until andunless the sale is rescinded by the owner (step 76). Until the song isactually sold, the sale can be rescinded (step 76) and the song can bedownloaded (step 78) and its offer for sale forgotten. Note that if thesong is repurchased, it will have different metadata, watermarkings, andfingerprints, so it will not match the identify of a sold song (step 74will fail).

A Recycled Digital Media Store

A registered member of a recycled digital media “store” that operatesaccording to the invention has numerous benefits. Members can access acatalogue of recycled, licensed, digital media. Music, movie, book andgame fans will enjoy their favorite artists, actors and authorsshowcased in a high-quality application that is easy and fun to use. Thenet result is a low cost unparalleled user experience and a compellinglegal alternative to piracy.

Members can transfer unwanted digital media to the store in exchange forpurchase credit. This media is re-inventoried in the store. A member canbuy any media listed there with these credits. Such a system can providethe ability to get music, books, movies, and games with no cash out ofpocket. In some embodiments, if the account does not have sufficientcredits to cover a purchase, the purchase can be completed in thetraditional way, e.g., by credit card, etc.

Individual artist, author and producer areas allow members to build adirect relationship with fans, old and new, across the world. Thisservice facilitates the development of revenue streams through the saleof downloads, merchandising, concert tickets and more, as well as,earning a share of the revenues created through advertising and premiumbusinesses. Powerful, real-time, in-depth reporting is standard toparticipating labels and artists, authors, etc.

-   -   The Market for Digital Media has grown rapidly in the digital        music space and is growing even faster with the introduction of        digital movie downloads and digital books. Historically, all        forms of media have moved to the “used” or “re-sale”        marketplace.    -   Why re-sale? Typically the markets for resale are driven by        VALUE, those purchasing in that category are most often driven        by the ability to save money while getting the exact product        they want, not an imitation, rendition or low quality copy.    -   Digital fingerprinting technology is used to identify and tag        uploaded media, thereby securely removing all synced copies of        the same file(s).

Embodiment

In some embodiments, management software (e.g., the aforementionedManager Application) can run on a personal computer or laptop 22 thathas connections to the internet 26. For example, there can be one ormore remote servers 20 providing the service of purchasing, selling,inventory, and re-inventory of new and used digital media objects 28.There can also be remote servers that provide digital fingerprinting andidentification services.

In some embodiments, a personal computer 22 can be used by a user tobuy, sell, and/or manage his or her DMOs 28. Dedicated music players 32,movie viewers, e-book readers 34, and the like, can connect to thepersonal computer 22 for DMO uploading and downloading. When each ofthese devices, e.g., 32-34, are attached to the personal computer 22,they can appear as a removable file system to the computer.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods of the present invention,e.g., the management software embodying the features disclosed herein,can run on portable digital devices, such as smart phones, or PDA's, orcan execute on remote servers that control the content of dedicateddevices. The modifications necessary to achieve these modifications arewithin the scope of this invention. An exemplary embodiment of which isdescribed below.

For example, digital media objects can reside on “read-only” physicalmedia, such as a CD, DVD, ROM, photographic paper, or physical book.They can also reside on more volatile devices such as RAM, disks, SSD,or flash memories. The digital data or bits of such volatile memorydevices can be easily written or re-written many times. A digital mediaobject can reside on any or all of these forms of data storage. Suchdata storage, especially flash memory can be found in all sorts ofconsumer devices. A single digital media object, say a digital song, canreside in a computers hard disk in one or more files, but can alsoreside in the flash memory of a portable music player, as well as on abackup disk drive or external flash memory.

In preparation to offer a digital media object for sale, the goal is todelete, expunge, remove, or disable all of the copies of this digitalmedia object that are owned by seller so that there is only a singlecopy of the DMO whose ownership will be transferred during the sale.While it may be impossible to delete the copy of a digital media objectthat is stored on a disconnected, powered off disk drive, the managementsystem software makes a best effort to remove all copies. To this end,the management system software preferably remembers the sale of thisdigital media object so that any time in the future, when a disconnecteddevice is reconnected, the system will retry to remove it as well. Afingerprint of the DMO is used so that even if the metadata of a filecontaining the DMO is modified, it will still be recognized as a copy ofthe object sold or offered for sale. Similarly for portable digitalmusic players; whenever they are connected to the computer, the managerwill attempt to remove copies as well.

The working of an exemplary management system is described in two parts.The first part is the typical execution and assumes everything has beensetup and initialized. The second part is the initial setup and handlingother cases. The management system software runs on the privatecomputer, smartphone, or other personal computing device. Itcommunicates over the internet with the servers. The working of anexemplary server-side system is described as well.

Typical Operation

In one exemplary embodiment, the manager system uses the contents ofseveral tables in order to know what actions need to be taken when afile is created, deleted, or modified. These tables are maintained onthe local personal computer and can be mirrored on a remote server. Whennot in use, the tables are encrypted to prevent easy manipulation byrogue processes. Although not absolutely necessary, the private keysshould be backed up on a remote server. In addition, the serversmaintain a list of DMO's that have been bought or sold by the user.These lists are periodically sent to the management system software onthe private computer to ensure they are up-to-date.

FIG. 4 specifies some exemplary fields for each entry in the table.Since files may be contained on external storage or storage containedwithin external devices or players (referred to as a volume), a completespecification of the file is needed. The ReDigi™ Universal ID is aglobally unique ID and used to connect the file with entries in theother tables. The public key in the owned, bought, and sold tablesrefers to a way to decrypt the DMO. The entries in these three tablesmay contain a list of files that contain this DMO.

Each entry of the tables can contain the globally unique identity of theDMO. This is known to the remote server, which has a more detailed setof features and identifying markers for the object. Some objects canalso have a decryption key. The entry for a DMO can also contain afingerprint of the file, e.g. the MD5 sum as well as a list of filesthat represent or “contain” this DMO. It may also contain otheridentifying features that depend on the actual media type.

Some of the tables are as follows (see FIG. 4) for the fields of eachentry in the tables):

-   -   file_id: This specifies a file. The file can be on the local        machine or on a file system that is only temporarily attached.        This other file system might be a dedicated device or an        external drive, e.g. a flash drive.    -   dmo-owned: This is the set of DMO's that are owned by this user.        Each could be contained in many different files on many        different devices.    -   demo-sold: The set of DMO's that were sold by this user.    -   dmo-bought: The set of DMO's that were purchased by this user.    -   dmo-multiple-transactions: The set of DMO's that have been        bought and sold multiple times. These entries represent files        that should be watched.    -   dmo-suspicious: DMO's that have been sold but reappeared on the        system

In some embodiments, whenever a file is created, deleted, or modified, amaintenance function of the management software is invoked. Thisinvocation works in the same way as virus protection software. Under theMicrosoft Windows operating system, it is possible to register a routineto be invoked on all these operations. Under the Macintosh OperatingSystem, a similar mechanism exists for the file indexing service,“spotlight” If other operating systems do not provide this ability, thena periodic scan over all the files in the system can be performed in thebackground to detect the status off all the files.

In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, care is needed to avoidexcessive invocation of this routine. When making a copy of a file, theroutine will be called numerous times, as the new file is continuallyupdated. Even worse is what happens when an entire directory, containingmany files, is copied. To avoid numerous calls, a delay in inserted. Itis not necessary for the management software to immediately check eachnew file creation or modification. All that is necessary is for eachfile to eventually be checked.

On each invocation the following actions occur. Note that the firstaction is to fingerprint the file using MD5 (message digest 5)—hashvalue of the entire file (very fragile). Thus, if the owner makes a copyof a file, we will be able to notice that the files are the same.

DMO- DMO- DMO-Owned Bought Sold None Creation add to owned increasedelete add to count file or scanned issue warning Accessed delete fileor issue warning Deletion remove from decrease rescind add to ownedcount any scanned outstanding warning Modification treat as if deletedelete add to then create file or scanned issue warning Purchase add tobought Sell/gift add to sold

Actions in Response to a File Creation Notification

In some embodiments, since a user can make multiple copies of any DMO'sthat he or she owns, each copy should be recorded in the DMO-Owned orDMO-Bought table and checked against the DMO-sold. Although it is notnecessary to record this information for DMO's that are owned, it makesthe task of offering a DMO for sale much faster. If a DMO has been sold,the newly created file must be removed from the system either undermanagement control or by issuing a notification warning the user thatthe DMO has been sold and the file must be deleted. The exception iswhen the user has access to a DMO but does not have sufficient computerprivileges to delete the file. For example, there are two users whoshare the same personal computer. Each user may be able to access filesin the other's account but does not have permission to delete thosefiles. Every modern, advanced operating system has a set of read, write,and deletion permissions associated with every file and every useraccount. Anyone skilled in the art of computer programming knows how tocheck these permissions.

It is possible that the file creation is the result of a copy from aremovable device containing that file, in such a case, both the new andthe old DMO files must be deleted. A DMO file found on device that hasjust been attached is considered to be a file creation, and will beeither recorded or deleted depending on it being identified as owned orsold. If Non-DMO files or DMO files that cannot be validated asresulting from an on-line download purchase are ignored since theycannot be sold in the future and are assumed not to be part of thesystem of objects being tracked. A methodology for carrying out thesesteps is illustrated, by way of non-limiting example, in the code thatfollows,

def on_file_creation(file_id):   (file_name, file_meta_data) = file_id  if (dmo_id = contained_in_table(DMO_owned, file_id )):    add_to_owned( dmo_id, file_id)   elif (dmo_id =contained_in_table(DMO_sold, file_id )):     popup_query_to_user(”The 

 contents 

 of 

 the 

 object 

 in 

 file”,        file_name,       ” 

 has 

 already 

 been 

 sold\n 

 Will 

 remove 

 file.\n”,       ” 

 If 

 this 

 is 

 in 

 error, 

 please 

 contact 

 re-digi.com”)     remove_file(file_id)   else:    add_to_files_scanned(file_scanned, file_id)

Actions in Response to a File Deletion Notification

In one embodiment, the response to a file deletion, does not depend onthe number of copies of a DMO; the record of the deleted file associatedwith a DMO is removed and the count is decreased. When the count goes to0, however, the DMO record remains in the table. If a DMO is owned itshould continue to be tracked since it can be created again. Forexample, the file could have been deleted in order to save storagespace. It could still be sold in the future. If the DMO was sold, thenthis deletion is just the right action to be taken. If the file wasneither bought nor sold, it is not part of those that are tracked. Amethodology for carrying out these steps is illustrated, by way ofnon-limiting example, in the code that follows,

def on_file_deletion (file_id):   (file_name, file_meta_data) = file_id  if (dmo_id = contained_in_table( DMO_owned , file_id )):    removed_from_owned( dmo_id, file_id )   elif (dmo_id =contained_in_table( DMO_sold , file_id )):    decrease_file_count(dmo_id)

Actions in Response to a File Modification Notification

In one embodiment, a file that is modified can be treated as a deletionfollowed by a creation. There are optimizations but they make the codeharder to understand and maintain. It is assumed that once a file hasbeen modified, it is still possible to recreate the old, non-modifiedfile. Actually, all that is needed is the fingerprints of the originalfile. This is already in the tables. A methodology for carrying outthese steps is illustrated, by way of non-limiting example, in the codethat follows,

def on_file_modification(file_id):   old_file_id =temp_create_file_from_backup(file_id)   on_file_deletion(old_file_id)  on_file_creation(file_id)   delete_file(old_file_id)

Actions Performed by the User Through the Management System

Using an embodiment of the management system discussed in more detailabove, there are at least two things a user can do. He or she canpurchase a new digital music object. In this case, there will be adownload of the DMO just purchased. The user can create many copies ofthe object. He or she can get rid of such an object, either by sellingit or by passing it on to someone else. In this case, all copies of theobject must be removed or delete. Actually, it should be passed on (thebits passed) to the new copyright owner.

When an object is purchased, a file is usually downloaded to thecomputer or device. It is the job of the manager to verify both theidentify of the digital media object and ownership. The moststraightforward way is when the digital media object seller will verifythe transaction.

Before a DMO is sold, it must be checked for validity. It must be in theowned table. Then it all depends on the object type and its protection,drm, etc. A methodology for carrying out these steps is illustrated, byway of non-limiting example, in the code that follows,

# assume dmo_id is an entry owned. # account is id of user (from whenceit was bought) def confirm_ownership(dmo_id):  for file_id infile_list_in_owned(dmo_id):   account =get_account_field_from_bought(dmo_id)   # find at least one file withthis dmo with valid ownership   if (redigi_uid =get_redigi_uid_from_file_id(file_id)):    ifredigi_server_confirm_ownership( redigi_uid, account ):     return TRUE# remote server confirms ownership    else:     return FALSE # serverindicates different ownership   elif known_standard_encrypted_file(file_id ):    key = get_key_field_from_bought(dmo_id)    (header,body) =decrypt_file( key, file_id )    if account in header:     return TRUE #header contains correct account id  return FALSE # could not confirmownership

The confirm ownership routine is used when offering a DMO for sale. Amethodology for carrying out these steps is illustrated, by way ofnon-limiting example, in the code that follows,

# dmo_id is a record that contains most of the fields in the dmo_owned #table entry def on_purchase(dmo_id):   add_to_owned( dmo_id , null )  add_to_bought( dmo_id , null ) # assume this is called only oncedmo_id is confirmed #  to be in owned table. def on_sell(dmo_id)   ifconfirm_ownership(dmo_id) == FALSE:     return FALSE  add_to_sold(dmo_id)   for file_id in file_list_in_owned(dmo_id):    remove_file(file_id)   remove_from_owned( dmo_id, file_id)   returnTRUE

Preventing or Discouraging Access to DMO that has been Sold

In one embodiment using the detection scheme described above, there areseveral actions that are taken to prevent or discourage access or use bya user of a DMO that the user has sold. For customers in good standing awarning message is flashed on the screen and a notification messageissued is enough of a discouragement. The user may have simply not knownthat he or she still had access to a DMO copy that he or she has sold.Repeated access and playing of a song that the user has sold requiresstronger action on the part of the management system. Since theidentification might be in error, the file may be moved to a specialquarantine directory making access difficult. Upon further infractions,the user is prevented from any further offers for sale of DMO's. An evenfurther discouragement is possible by freezing the user's account.

Initialization

In some embodiments, the initialization phase goes through all the filesowned by the user and classifies their content and places these resultsin a set of tables. For example, this is similar in function to virusdetection software. It first does a full scan of all the files. Later,it is only concerned with new and modified files.

In one exemplary embodiment, when a new file system or file volume isattached to the computer, the initialization routine scans though allthe files on it. Thus, the initialization phase may be invoked manytimes (as devices attach and reattach).

Exactly which DMO's found in files are classified as “owned” is a policydecision. A liberal policy is to assume every DMO was legally acquired.A highly restrictive policy assumes that only DMO's with DRM thatrestrict playing to this device are legally owned and all others are notand may not be resold.

A methodology for carrying out these steps is illustrated, by way ofnon-limiting example, in the code that follows,

# This examines a file def scan_file(file_id):   (file_name,file_meta_data) = file_id   if is_redigi_file(file_name):     dmo_id =extract_dmo_id(file_name)     add_to_owned( dmo_id, file_id, ‘redigi’ )  elif is_ordinary_media_file(file_name, media_type):     header_info =extract_header(file_name)     dmo_id = looup_object_from_header_info(header_info)     add_to_owned( dmo_id, file_id, ‘ordinary’ )   elifguess_media_type( file_name ) == media_type:     dmo_it = guess_dmo_id(file_name)     add_to_owned( dmo_id, file_id, ‘guessed’ )   else:    add_to_ignored( file_id)   add_to_scanned( file_id)

The Server Side

The management system software communicates with the server software. Aweb browser can also be used to communicate and interact with the serversoftware.

The server controls and maintains a set of databases that are used tosupport various functions such as: user accounts, DMO maintenance, deepverification, bookkeeping of credits and financials, uploading anddownloading of DMOs, and matching offers to sell with requests to buyparticular DMOs.

Maintaining user accounts is required for the system to work but theparticulars, such as account creation, verification, login, session-ids,cookies, etc., are well known. What is relevant to one embodiment is theadditional information kept with the account, outlined below, in a wayof a non-limiting example.

Field Description Preferences The length of time a DMO that has beenoffered for sale will remain for sale or an offer to buy will remain inplace. When the purchase of a DMO succeeds, the DMO can be automaticallydownloaded to one or more of the user's private computer or devices. BoxSize, Box capacity, Box The box is a collection of the DMO's owned bythe account location and currently residing on the server dedicated tothe exclusive use by this account. There is a capacity both in thenumber of DMO's and in their total size. DMO identities used This fieldis used to detect fraud. DMO's purchased on-line often have an identify,email, username, or some other customer identification stored in themeta-data. A user who has an excessive number of such identifies is awarning signal of potentially trying to sell DMO's that he or she doesnot own. Similarly identities that are also found in other user accountsraise similar warnings. IP addresses of machines Each machine with aworking cop of the management system with management system software candownload a copy of a purchased DMO. software Consequently, the serverlimits the number of machines on which the management system softwareinstalled. Also monitored is the number of times the management softwareis installed and uninstalled. Number of Infractions An infraction is aviolation of the legal use of the system, such as non-deletion of DMO'soffered for sale, multiple attempts to offer non-verifiable DMO's forsale, or exceeding the limits of identities or machines as recorded inthe above two fields.

The BOX

In one embodiment, DMO's can be uploaded to or downloaded from theserver. A table containing pointers to the DMO's is referred to as abox. Each DMO is owned by used one user and at any time, there is onlyone box that points to a DMO. There are several operations that can beperformed on a box, including those in the following list:

statusOfBox( ) This returns the objects, their type, size, and status -for sale, recently purchased, exclusive copy (e.g. there are no knowncopies on any of the user's devices or machines). putFileIntoBox(file,The management system software uses this interface to nickname) upload acopy of a DMO to the server. getFileFromBox(nickname) The managementsystem software uses this interface to download a copy of a DMO. Theserver then records the fact that this DMO is no longer exclusive on theserver. This is also used when a DMO is purchased from another user.insertFileIntoBox(nickname) This is part of the process of transferringownership from one user to another. In one atomic transaction, a pointerto an instance of a DMO is deleted from one box and inserted intoanother box. deleteFileFromBox(nickname) This is part of the process oftransferring ownership from one user to another. It can also be invokedfrom the management system software.

DMO Verification

In one embodiment, verification of a DMO offered for sale is necessaryin order to ensure that the meta-data that identifies the contents ofthe DMO is correct. There are two aspects to the verification process.One is to verify that the DMO was purchased by the user. The second isthat the digital object is what it claims to be. For example, a devioususer may try to sell a song that appears to be the Beatles' song“Yesterday” but when played, the music is an advertisement for someproduct.

In one embodiment, verification of ownership is based on a set ofcriteria and characteristics of the DMO, each of which either increasesor decrease the level of confidence in ownership. Some, but not allcharacteristics are:

User identification Many sites store one or more versions that identifythe user account that did an on-line purchase of the DMO. If this useridentification matches those of other DMO's owned by this user, thenincrease confidence of ownership. If the user identification is similarto the user account name on this seller, then also increase confidence.For example, if the user name for an iTunes purchased song matches theuser name of the reseller's account name for this service, give extrabonus in confidence. Exclusive use of There are no other users in thesystem that have identification. ever had a DMO with this useridentification. No obvious signs Many programs allow one to edit themetadata of metadata of a DMO Some of these programs add fields to theediting metadata that state the program used to edit the metadata. Validproprietary Many online DMO retailers insert special hidden fieldsinserted by fields to show that they sold the file. Examining a thedistributor large number of DMO's can be used to identify their specialhidden fields.

Upon transfer of ownership of used DMO's that are sold through theservice are first stripped of all identifying marks and fields in themetadata. The new owner will not be able to tell who was the previousowner. Then, identifying marks of the new owner is inserted into the DMOmetadata. Finally, special watermarks identifying this transaction andthis service provider are inserted into the DMO itself. For example, inthe case of a digital song, a digital watermark is inserted by modifyingthe music in an inconspicuous manner.

A DMO that was purchased as a used DMO through this service will thuscontain a recognizable watermark, perhaps acoustic in the case of songsand movies or graphical in the case of e-books or pictures. Any DMOcontaining such watermarks can be easily verified as to the true ownerof the DMO making verification of such DMOs very easy andstraightforward.

The second type of verification, that of ensuring the metadata correctlyidentifies the content of the DMO, can be accomplished, in oneembodiment, by the use of a master fingerprint table. Each instance of aDMO contains a copy of the same contents as the master copy. Forexample, the music of any instance of the same digital song should soundthe same. We assume that different encodings of the same DMO contentssound, look, or render in a similar way. A fingerprint of the content isstored on the server. Every work offered for sale is verified asfollows. A fingerprint of the content is generated. This fingerprint iscompared to the fingerprint on file in the server of the work thatcorresponds to the work's identification as specified in the metadata.For example, if the metadata of a song claims it is the Beatles' song“Yesterday” then a acoustic fingerprint is generated of the music in theDMO. This fingerprint is compared to the fingerprint that was generatedfrom a known valid DMO of the same song. The fingerprint need not matchexactly, but should be close enough. Note that this task issignificantly simpler than the task of identifying a DMO without knowingwhat it is. For example there are many services that can identify a songfrom just a few seconds of its playing. That requires comparing thefingerprint of a few seconds of music with an entire collection ofmillions of songs. There are many ways to generate fingerprints. Acommon approach is to apply a Fourier Transform to the signal mapping itfrom the time domain to the frequency domain. Characteristics of theresulting frequencies, such as max, min, average values, signal entropycan be used along with other more typical music features such as timbre,The verification task using fingerprints is much easier thanidentification since it need only ensure that the fingerprint match thefingerprint of what the DMO claims to be.

The Matching

In some embodiments, the matching between DMO's offers for sale andrequest for purchase consists of the following actions making by theservers and making use of its internal tables. A DMO can be offered forsale before, during, or after there is a corresponding request forpurchase. Consider each case separately. Before delving into thedetails, it is necessary to describe how a DMO can be identified.

In the case of digital songs, each song requires a uniquerepresentation. A song is often identified by a quadruple of Title,Artist, Album, and Year released. Unfortunately, not all songs fit thisidentification model. Some songs are released as singles and are notassociated with an album. Some songs may have multiple release dates.Yet other songs may have slightly different ways of writing the title,depending on the language of the consumer, e.g. A French as well as anEnglish title, or a title that is transliterated using a differentalphabet. In addition, classical music may be specified by both theorchestra and the conductor.

In some embodiments, a standard database is used that provides a uniquenumber or identifier for each unique musical composition. The databasecan be searched using a partial specification of the object and can alsoassign the same identifier to the same musical composition even whenthere are multiple titles, release dates, etc. Given a DMO, the metadatamust specify these fields in sufficient detail to uniquely identify theobject. These fields are used as search terms for the database. Any DMOoffered for sale, will first have these fields extracted from themetadata, a search performed on the database, and its unique identifierthen used as an internal DMO identifier.

When a DMO is offered for sale before there is a request for a purchase,the server updates the available inventory for this particular objectbased on its identifier as described above.

A buyer will specify some or all of the search terms. This produces alist of identifiers that match the search terms. For each of theseidentifiers, a list is presented to a potential buyer with a notation ofwhich objects have non-zero inventory. When the potential purchaserindicates a willingness to buy the used DMO, the inventory is searchedand an atom database transaction will exchange coupons, credits, cash,as well as exchanging ownership.

There may be items on the list that have no inventory but that a userwishes to purchase. This is a case of a buy request occurring before anoffer to sell has been made. The inventory table entry for this objectindicates this fact. As soon as there is an offer to sell this object,the server checks the inventory and will see the request to buy. A matchoccurs and an atomic database transaction will exchange coupons,credits, cash, as well as exchanging ownership.

The third possibility is that there are no requests to buy nor offers tosell for a particular object but at roughly the same time, a request andan offer are made by two different users. A naïve implementation couldresult in a situation in which the offer to sell fails to see that thereis a request to buy and the request to buy fails to see the offer tosell and both get placed in a wait queue and no match occurring untilsome future request or offer is occurs. Note that the buyer has alreadyseen an empty inventory and so is expecting to wait for an offer tosell. So, whenever a request to buy is placed in the wait queue, a timeris set so that the request to buy will check the sell queue again in thenear future. This ensures that a match will always occur no matter whatthe timing.

Gifting

In one embodiment, an exchange of ownership and corresponding monetaryinstruments can take place between three users, when there thetransaction supports gifting. The match process described above involvesa database atomic transaction that atomically performs several databaseupdates. The pointer to the DMO is switched from one user's box toanother user's box. The price of the DMO is subtracted from one user'saccount and added partially to another user's account and the remainingto the media store's account. To support the ability to gift a DMO, theatomic database transaction involve the database accounts of threeuser's in a manner that will be evident to those skilled in the art inview of the teachings hereof.

Increasing the Chance of Matching

In some embodiments, provisions are made to give a seller a betterchance to have his or her DMO's bought. One way is to help the seller tooffer the DMO's in the right time. There are three subsystems.

One subsystem uploads DMO's to the box, purges them from the privatecomputer, and then offers them for sale. This process can be underdirect control of the seller. But if the seller wishes to offer manyDMO's for sale and there is insufficient room in the box for all ofthem, some of this process can be automated.

The user specifies all the DMO's that are offered for sale using asecond subsystem. This subsystem sends the list to the server. Any DMO'sfor which there are buyers waiting, are automatically uploaded to thebox, purged, offered for sale by making use of subsystem one, howeverunder the control of subsystem two. If there is still room in the box,DMO's that have been recently been involved in transactions and thenoffered for sale, again sing subsystem one. The server knows current andpast demand and can accurately priority order the DMO's so that the mostlikely ones to be bought are the first to be offered for sale.

Based on the set of DMO's offered for sale (accumulated via subsystemsone and/or two), it is possible to infer what other DMO's a user mayhave on his or her private computer. Correlating these with known demandof requests to buy, a third subsystem can send a list of DMO's to themanagement system software on the personal computer to see if there areany DMO's there. If so, the user is asked if he or she would like tooffer them for sale. This works in much the same way as a recommendationsystem, however, it is based on what a user wishes to sell rather whatthe user wishes to buy.

Optimizations

Optimizations of the foregoing are discussed below. These may beemployed individually and/or in combination with one or more of theteachings above.

The file size can be an easy filter to quickly eliminate files fromconsideration. Movies are at least dozens of megabytes in size. Songsare smaller. E-books are not dozens of kilobytes in size. Picturesusually larger.

The file extensions can be an excellent first level indicator but shouldnever be trusted. It identifies the first thing to try.

The tables are best organized as hash tables to quickly find records.When more than half the entries are occupied, the table size can bedoubled and the entries re-mapped.

Rather than uploading a DMO that is sold, in some situations, it may besufficient to simply notify the remote server by sending the ID of theobject. This can be considered a highly compressed version of sendingthe whole object.

When several users upload the same DMO to the server, it may be possiblefor the server to store only a single copy of the DMO and have eachuser's box point to this single copy. It is a legal decision whether ornot the server must maintain distinct instances of each DMO.

To identify the DMO contained in a file, there are three cases toconsider: The file is encrypted in its original form. The file isunencrypted and unmodified. The file is unrecognized and requires moreelaborate fingerprinting.

The match is much easier since the database size is smaller than theusual complete contents. The match is against only those DMO's that havebeen sold. Two steps: when sold and when any file is created for firstseen, e.g. device is connected.

When scanning all files. For each file, do deep search (fingerprint) tohave table of owned objects and the files in which they reside. (can dothis lazily) Whenever a new drive or device is connected, do a deep scan

Maintain fingerprint (features) in the owner table (or even unclassifiedtable). When an object is offered for sale, we download the features andmatch it against all the objects in the table. It is easier to match aparticular song rather than to identify the song.

Described above are systems and methods meeting the objects set forthherein. It will be appreciated that the embodiments illustrated anddescribed herein are merely examples of the invention and that otherembodiments incorporating changes thereto fall within the scope of theinvention.

In view of the foregoing, what we claim is set forth beginning on thepages entitled “Claims,” following Appendix A.

APPENDIX A Executive Summary ReDigi™—The Worlds First Recycled DigitalMedia Store™

ReDigi™ users access the world's only catalogue of re-cycled, licensed,digital media.Music, movie, book and game fans will enjoy their favorite artists,actors and authors showcased in a high-quality application that is easyand fun to use. The net result is a low cost unparalleled userexperience and a compelling legal alternative to piracy.Members can transfer no longer used digital media to the ReDigi™ storein exchange for purchase credit.ReDigi™ members can earn ReDigiBucks™ by inventorying their unused musicon ReDigi™, by searching from ReDigi™, by Shopping on ReDigi™—then buyany media listed on ReDigi™ with credit from their ReDigi™ Bankaccount—all very cool, get music, books, movies, games with no cash outof pocket, or if the ReDigi™ account is a little low, its ok to purchasethe traditional way.Promoting media on ReDigi™ is free, individual artist, author andproducer areas allow members to build a direct relationship with fans,old and new, across the world. ReDigi™ facilitates the development ofrevenue streams through the sale of downloads, merchandising, concerttickets and more, as well as, earning a share of revenues ReDigi™creates through our advertising and premium businesses. Powerful,real-time, in-depth reporting is standard to participating labels andartists, authors, etc.

What is ReDigi™

-   -   ReDigi™ is short for Recycled Digital Media.    -   The Market for Digital Media has grown rapidly in the digital        music space and is growing even faster with the introduction of        digital movie downloads and digital books. Historically, all        forms of media have moved to the “used” or “re-sale”        marketplace. This is the primary market which ReDigi™ has        targeted.    -   Why re-sale? Typically the markets for resale are driven by        VALUE, those purchasing in that category are most often driven        by the ability to save money while getting the exact product        they want, not an imitation, rendition or low quality copy.    -   ReDigi™ uses proprietary digital fingerprinting technology        (ReDigiPrint™) to identify and tag uploaded media, thereby        securely removing all synced copies of the same ReDigiPrinted™        file(s).    -   ReDigi™ uses a proprietary ReDigiPrint™, DPP, tag that allows        legal transfer and sharing of media files.

Cool ReDigi™ Features Accessibility & Purchasing Options: Mobile AccessOnline Access Recycled New Cool User Features

Great credit for used digital mediaSave money on digital media purchases (Discounted New/Used Prices)Fun and easy to useIntegration with FanAction™ Tickets, find events that match ReDigi™music purchases in the users area and provides easy digital ticketpurchase.

ReDigi™ Benefits

Significant Increased Income per unit sold—New & Recycled media PurchaseBrand Leader in the “used/recycled” marketplaceIncreased user marketing data/opportunitiesAdded Features not seen with ANY other digital media siteReduces illegal media downloadingPartnership provides total scalability instantlyLatest generation database technology

ReDigi™ Solution Dynamic Digital Rights Tracking (DDRT) TechnologyDynamic Inventory Management (DIM)

Supplemental Profit Allocation—and instant view back officeTotal Media life cycle control and information tracking

-   -   Typical length of ownership, genre, quantity, etc.    -   Automated Music preferences algorithm provides suggested items        to member

ReDigi™ Features:

-   -   Trade-in, Earn & Purchase Digital Media    -   Swap-Me™ Trade-in media that has been legally        purchased/downloaded with an attached DRM or L Code        -   Algorithm provides instant credit allocation to member based            on Billboard top 100, Amazon top 50 Video Games, NY times            bestsellers.        -   Identifier scans all Swap-Me™ files for ReDigi™ tags, (Media            previously purchased new from ReDigi™ gets additional            Swap-Me™ credit).    -   Digi Bucks™ Home Page Designed with Digi Bucks Search Bar—SEARCH        to earn credits toward purchases.    -   ReDigi™ refer friends and when they sign up and make first        purchase, win credits.    -   Its-Hot see what your ReDigi™ friends are buying when looking        for media, purchase (preferences allow member to block friends        view).    -   Gotta-Have-It™ tag(s) recycled media that you want but currently        not in inventory, member is notified via email/Text as soon as        ReDigi™ has inventory.        -   If member connects to the link and inventory has been sold a            Gotta Have It™ discount is provided on a new copy, as long            as, member purchases within 20 minutes of logging in.            Available for 2 hours after text/email delivery.    -   Turn-Me-On™ sends your friends a quick clip of media you love,        (includes an easy purchase link)    -   Guess-What-I-Got™ Single touch notifier tells “friends” what you        just purchased and provides an instant purchase link.

Additional Cool Features

Gift Media™ Allows members to select from listed charities and donateall or a portion of their proceeds to charityMediaAllocator™ automatically allocates all sales to the appropriateparties including ReDigi™, Label, Artist, etc. (provides real time backoffice view)ReDigi Bot™—cleans all donated digital media files using ReDigiPrint™technology from all of the members synced and or connected devices,stringent privacy agreement.Automated owner authenticity.Media Direct™ provides Instant Links with major social network sitesincluding Myspace, FaceBook, Twitter, Artist etc. for ease of purchasingawareness.

Data Collection/Marketing

-   -   Members    -   Members Network

1. A system for management of digital media objects, comprising: A.first and second client digital data processors, B. the first and secondclient digital data processors being in communications coupling with oneor more stores, C. at least one of a digital media object and a copythereof stored in one or more of the stores and accessible by at leastone of the first and second client digital data processors, D. during afirst period of time, the first client digital data processor beingsubstantially free of discouragement from accessing at least one of saiddigital media object and copy thereof by management logic at least oneof executing on and in communications coupling with the first clientdigital data processor, E. said management logic selectivelydiscouraging the first client digital data processor from accessing atleast one of said digital media object and copy thereof, the managementlogic performing such selective discouragement during a second period oftime that is mutually exclusive of the first period of time, wherein themanagement logic being in communications coupling with at least thefirst client digital data processor during at least a second period oftime, F. during the second period of time, the second client digitaldata processor being substantially free of discouragement from accessingat least one of said digital media object and copy thereof by saidmanagement logic.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital mediaobject is any of a digital song, a video, a movie, an electronic book, adigital story, a digital article, a digital document, a digital stillimage, a digital game, or a portion thereof.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the digital media object is a digital file representing any of adigital song, a video, a movie, an electronic book, a digital story, adigital article, a digital document, a digital still image, a digitalgame, or a portion thereof.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein saidmanagement logic assigns said digital media object and any said copythereof a common, unique fingerprint.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinsaid management logic selectively discouraging the first client digitaldata processor from accessing any of a said digital media object andcopy thereof having said common, unique fingerprint.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein management logic effects such selective discouragementin response to a transfer-ownership event.
 7. The system of claim 6,comprising a server digital data processors that is in communicationcoupling with at least the first client digital data processor and thateffects the transfer-ownership event.
 8. The system of claim 7, whereinat least one of the first client digital data processor at least assentsto a transfer of ownership of the digital media object.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the first client digital data processor requests totransfer ownership of the digital media object.
 10. The system of claim9, wherein the management logic responds to a said request by confirmingthat the first client digital data processor owns said digital mediaobject.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first client digital dataprocessor requests to sell the digital media object.
 12. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the first client digital data processor requests togift the digital media object.
 13. The system of claim 7, wherein thesecond client digital data processor at least assents to a transfer ofownership of the digital media object
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the second client digital data processor requests to buy thedigital media object.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the secondclient digital data processor requests to be gifted the digital mediaobject.
 16. A system for management of digital media objects,comprising: A. first and second client digital data processors, B. thefirst and second client digital data processors being in communicationscoupling with one or more stores, C. at least one of a digital mediaobject and a copy thereof stored in one or more of the stores andaccessible by at least one of the first and second digital dataprocessors, D. during a first period of time, the first client digitaldata processor being substantially free of discouragement from accessingat least one of said digital media object and copy thereof by managementlogic at least one of executing on and in communications coupling withthe first client digital data processor, E. said management logicselectively discouraging the first client digital data processor fromaccessing at least one of said digital media object and copy thereof,the management logic performing such selective discouragement during asecond period of time that is mutually exclusive of the first period oftime, wherein the management logic being in communications coupling withat least the first client digital data processor during at least asecond period of time, F. during the second period of time, the secondclient digital data processor being substantially free of discouragementfrom accessing at least one of said digital media object and copythereof by said management logic, G. a server digital data processorthat is in communication coupling with at least the first client digitaldata processor and that executes said management logic, and H. themanagement logic effecting selective discouragement in response to arequest by the first digital data processor to transfer ownership of thedigital media object.
 17. The system of claim 16, A. wherein saidmanagement logic effects such selective discouragement in response to atransfer-ownership event, and B. said server digital data processorseffects the transfer-ownership event.
 18. The system of claim 16,wherein the management logic responds to a said request by confirmingthat the first client digital data processor owns said digital mediaobject.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein said server digital dataprocessor makes at least one of said digital media object and copythereof accessible to the second client digital data processor on atleast one of the stores during said second period of time.
 20. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein said management logic assigns said digitalmedia object and any said copy thereof a common, unique fingerprint. 21.The system of claim 20, wherein said management logic selectivelydiscouraging the first client digital data processor from accessing anyof a said digital media object and copy thereof having said common,unique fingerprint.
 22. A system for management of digital mediaobjects, comprising: A. a first set of one or more client digital dataprocessors and a second set of one or more client digital dataprocessors, B. the first and second sets of client digital dataprocessors being in communications coupling with one or more stores, C.at least one of a digital media object and a copy thereof stored in oneor more of the stores and accessible by at least one of the first andsecond digital data processors, D. during a first period of time, thefirst set of client digital data processor being substantially free ofdiscouragement from accessing at least one of said digital media objectand copy thereof by management logic at least one of executing on and incommunications coupling with the first set of client digital dataprocessors, E. said management logic selectively discouraging the firstset of client digital data processors from accessing at least one ofsaid digital media object and copy thereof, the management logicperforming such selective discouragement during a second period of timethat is mutually exclusive of the first period of time, wherein themanagement logic being in communications coupling with at least thefirst set of client digital data processors during at least a secondperiod of time, F. during the second period of time, the second set ofclient digital data processor being substantially free of discouragementfrom accessing at least one of said digital media object and copythereof by said management logic.
 23. The system of claim 22, whereinsaid management logic assigns said digital media object and any saidcopy thereof a common, unique fingerprint.
 24. The system of claim 23,wherein said management logic selectively discouraging the first clientdigital data processor from accessing any of said digital media objectand copy thereof having said common, unique fingerprint.
 25. A methodfor management of digital media objects, comprising: A. storing at leastone of a digital media object and a copy thereof in one or more storesaccessible by at least one of first and second client digital dataprocessors, B. executing management logic, C. during a first period oftime, freeing the first client digital data processor fromdiscouragement by management logic from accessing at least one of saiddigital media object and copy thereof, D. with the management logic,selectively discouraging the first client digital data processor fromaccessing at least one of said digital media object and copy thereofduring a second period of time that is mutually exclusive of the firstperiod of time, E. during the second period of time, freeing the secondclient digital data processor from discouragement by management logicfrom accessing at least one of said digital media object and copythereof.
 26. The method of claim 25, comprising the step of assigningsaid digital media object and any said copy thereof a common, uniquefingerprint.
 27. The method of claim 26, comprising the step ofselectively discouraging, with said management logic, the first clientdigital data processor from accessing any of a said digital media objectand copy thereof having said common, unique fingerprint.
 28. A methodfor management of digital media objects, comprising: A. storing at leastone of a digital media object and a copy thereof in one or more storesaccessible by at least one of a first set of client digital dataprocessors and a second set of client digital data processors, B.executing management logic, C. during a first period of time, freeingthe first set of client digital data processors from discouragement bymanagement logic from accessing at least one of said digital mediaobject and copy thereof, D. with the management logic, selectivelydiscouraging the first set of client digital data processors fromaccessing at least one of said digital media object and copy thereofduring a second period of time that is mutually exclusive of the firstperiod of time, E. during the second period of time, freeing the secondset of client digital data processors from discouragement by managementlogic from accessing at least one of said digital media object and copythereof.
 29. The method of claim 28, comprising the step of assigningsaid digital media object and any said copy thereof a common, uniquefingerprint.
 30. The method of claim 29, comprising the step ofselectively discouraging, with said management logic, the first clientdigital data processor from accessing any of a said digital media objectand copy thereof having said common, unique fingerprint.
 31. A systemfor management of digital media objects, comprising: A. first clientdigital data processor and one or more second client digital dataprocessors, B. the first and second client digital data processors beingin communications coupling with one or more stores, C. a set comprisingone or more digital media objects and/or copies thereof stored in one ormore of the stores and accessible by at least one of the first andsecond client digital data processors, D. during a first period of time,the first client digital data processor being substantially free ofdiscouragement from accessing the set of digital media objects and/orcopies thereof by management logic at least one of executing on and incommunications coupling with the first client digital data processor, E.said management logic selectively discouraging the first client digitaldata processor from accessing at least a subset of the set of digitalmedia objects and/or copies thereof, the management logic performingsuch selective discouragement during a second period of time that ismutually exclusive of the first period of time, wherein the managementlogic being in communications coupling with at least the first clientdigital data processor during at least a second period of time, F.during the second period of time, one or more of the second clientdigital data processors being substantially free of discouragement fromaccessing at least the subset of digital media objects and/or copiesthereof by said management logic
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein asize of the subset is determined in accord with a size of a centralstore (“box”) allocated to the first client digital data processor. 33.The system of claim 31, wherein a user of the first digital dataprocessor specifies the digital media objects and/or copies thereofmaking up the set.
 34. The system of claim 32, wherein the managementlogic comprises one or more subsystems that creates one or more of saidsubsets from the set.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the one ormore subsystems create said one or more subsets as a function of apopularity of content represented by the digital media objects and/orcopies thereof making up the set.
 36. A system for management of digitalmedia objects, comprising: A. first and second client digital dataprocessors, B. the first and second client digital data processors beingin communications coupling with one or more stores, C. a set comprisingone or more digital media objects and/or copies thereof stored in one ormore of the stores and accessible by at least one of the first andsecond client digital data processors, D. during a first period of time,the first client digital data processor being substantially free ofdiscouragement from accessing the set of digital media objects and/orcopies thereof by management logic at least one of executing on and incommunications coupling with the first client digital data processor, E.said management logic selectively discouraging the first client digitaldata processor from accessing at least a subset of the set of digitalmedia objects and/or copies thereof, the management logic performingsuch selective discouragement during a second period of time that ismutually exclusive of the first period of time, wherein the managementlogic being in communications coupling with at least the first clientdigital data processor during at least a second period of time, F.during the second period of time, the second client digital dataprocessor being substantially free of discouragement from accessing atleast the subset of digital media objects and/or copies thereof by saidmanagement logic, G. wherein the subset is determined in accord with apurchase request by second digital data processor and/or an operatorthereof.
 37. The system of claim 35, the management logic includes asubsystem that responds to the purchase request by requesting the firstdigital data processor and/or an operator thereof if it wishes to sell.38. A method for management of digital media objects, comprising: A.during a first period of time, freeing a first client digital dataprocessor of discouragement by management logic from accessing a set ofdigital media objects and/or copies thereof, B. during a second periodof time that is mutually exclusive of the first period of time, usingthe management logic to selectively discouraging the first clientdigital data processor from accessing at least a subset of the set ofdigital media objects and/or copies thereof, F. during the second periodof time, freeing one or more second client digital data processors ofdiscouragement from accessing at least the subset of digital mediaobjects and/or copies thereof.
 39. The method of claim 38, wherein asize of the subset is determined in accord with the remaining capacityof a central store (“box”) allocated to the first client digital dataprocessor.
 40. The method of claim 38, accepting specification by a userof the first digital data processor of the digital media objects and/orcopies thereof making up the set.
 41. The method of claim 39, creatingone or more of said subsets from the set as a function of a popularityof content represented by the digital media objects and/or copiesthereof making up the set.